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New Tool For A-Fib Patients

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People with atrial fibrillation, or irregular heartbeat, are up to 7 times more likely to have a stroke, because of blood clots that can form in a section of the heart called the left atrial appendage. Deborah Attending Cardiac Interventionalist Dr. Vincent Varghese and his team have a new tool for A-Fib patients who can’t tolerate the blood thinners that are usually prescribed to prevent clots, an implantable device approved by the FDA this year called the Watchman.

“It’s not surgery, we go in basically through the groin much like a heart catheterization is done. We go into the heart chamber itself and we implant this device that essentially seals off that little appendage and thereby kind of obliterates any area where a clot could potentially form.”